Pride of Jeju

Every region in Korea is famous for something; Naju is famous for its pears, Gyeong-ju is famous for its red(azuki)-bean paste bread (which is way more tasty than you may think), Seoul is famous for being, well, Seoul, and Jeju is famous for....for Jeju oranges. (Jeju oranges = mandarin orange)

And Jeju is very proud of its oranges. Oranges, oranges everywhere, and all so good to eat!

I'm quite serious when I say there are oranges everywhere. By the time I arrive at school every morning, I've at least seen three different groves (from my apartment, on the way to school, another next to my school). For any given running loop I do, it's guaranteed that I'll at least pass five groves, as many as 15 on a 6mi run. I pass through orange grove central when I take the bus to the pool (30min ride). Several students have told me that their families are in the Jeju orange business. One girl this weekend claimed she picked 1000 oranges (I verified in Korean, the other students were just as surprised). The orange business is boomin'--look at the map. The everyday sighted groves are boxed, asterisks for other groves.
There are orange doesn't fall far from the tree. Since there are orange groves everywhere, there are oranges everywhere to eat. Time to time, my host family has a good stock, and I do more than my fair share to help consume them before they all rot. On good weeks, I can keep up an average of 10 or more a day. Last week, the TKD master had two crates full of oranges. In addition to every student eating at least 2 each, he sent Erin and I home with more than 30, which took my two days to consume. Many restaurants have crates of oranges near the door, up for grabs by the patrons. These oranges are small and east to give away--I've gotten many on random occasions.

Considering the amount of oranges the average Jeju Islander has eaten over a lifetime, there is a correct, optimized protocol to peeling a Jeju orange. Every Jeju Islander seems to know from birth the most proper, convenient, and efficient technique for orange peeling, and I just look stupid. So that you are prepared for any visit to Jeju, when you are eating an orange: first break the orange in half from the bottom, then break into quarters,then effortlessly peel away the quarter sections away from the peel!

Quick, no peel under the fingernail, and the peel is left intact.

Although there are several things Jeju is proud of, the orange is the pride of Jeju. This pride hass manifested in several physical forms, which includes, but is not limited to:

images on city electric boxes


lamp post design

bus stops


waste disposal areas



...and, my favorite, the pinnacle of pride, be prepared,...

the Jeju United (soccer team) mascot!



The Jeju orange is that good, and Jeju is that proud.

Fun Filled Weekend

The homestay family took off for China this weekend (business trip), leaving me to my own devices. Luckily I had fantastic island-hopping plans...four different islands in four days.

Thursday
새섬=Seh Seom, island #1

My middle school first and second graders (American equivalent 7th and 8th graders) had midterms all day, meaning a free day for Teacher Alicia. I used the free time to go on a longer run, which included a venture across the Seogwipo bridge and around Seh Seom, where I went 2 weekends ago with my homestay family. The island has quickly become a tourist destination; I had to weave in and out of a sea of tourists in the parking lot. A quick strech and shower later, I was back at school to join the teachers for a duck 샤브샤브 dinner.

Saturday
우도=oo-doe=Udo, island #2
Three other ETAs and I ventured off early (7am departure from the apartment) Saturday morning to go see Udo Island, a small but populated island off Jeju's east coast. A bus and ferry later we arrived on Udo only with plans to bike around the island and catch the 5o'clock ferry back. For only 10,000won ($8!) we able to rent bikes for the next 6 hours to pedal our way along the coast. The first stop was one of Korea's few white coral beaches, the next stop a light house, the next stop another breath-taking blue beach. The island seems to have a good haenyo (Jeju's women sea divers) population; we passed numerous haenyo shops, saw several haenyo statues, and even came across a group that had finished a dive. After an adventurous lunch (any meal where I don't know what I'm ordering is adventurous) we found the Cliffs of Moher, or at least a small Korean version of the Cliffs of Moher. Even better was the traditional music concert in the cave. All that and we still easily caught the 5o'clock ferry back to the "mainland".

Sunday
숲섬=Sawp sawm=Seop Seom/Island island #3
It was expensive, but Seogqipo friend Ashley and I decided to go for it; we whipped out some won to go scuba diving. We had signed up for the TryScuba dive, one dive accompanied by a professional (Ralf of Big Blue 33, guidebook featured and the only English-speaking scuba diver instructor in Seogwipo). Nine of us (by nationality: 4 Americans, 2 Hollanders, 2 Germans and a Canadian; or by experience: 2 instructors, 4 certified divers, and 3 novices) went to Seop Seom, 10 minutes by boat from Swogwipo harbor, to dive and hang out in the sun.
Diving is one of the most peaceful things I've every done. There's a lot of concerns, like breathing and oxygen level, equalizing pressure so as to not bust a lung of ear drum, but the best advice from one of the certified divers was to be relaxed like you had just smoked a joint. It's true, you're there just to enjoy the (underwater) scenery. I would like to describe what I saw, but it'd take a writing skills beyond my capacity, not to mention the amount of time. Just go and do it--my 20min underwater was definitely worth the 100,000won ($85) and 6 hour expedition. If I had the time and the money, I would consider getting certified, but just a poor English teacher who has the rest of Korea to see on her weekends....

Island #4? I'd have hoped you'd figure it out by now....I live on an island...제주 (=Jeju)!

Family Filled Weekend

Besides Chuseok, it was a family-fun-filled weekend. Just to jog your memory, my homestay family is...

아빠 (Ah-ppa): father, a civil engineer
엄마 (Awm-ma): mother, part-time assistant for Ah-ppa and part-time housewife
종인 (jong-een=JongIn, on left): homestay sister #1, middle school student (my student)
선미 (sawn-me=SanMi, second left): homestay sister #2, college student currently studying for TOEIC, an English test, in Jeju City



Friday with Ah-ppa, JongIn, and SanMi
산굼부리=San-koom-boo-ri=Sangumburi
While Awm-ma was cooking for Chuseok, the four of us went to Samkumbori. All they told me was that it was "a beautiful place". Samkumbori is a parasitic volcano east of Hallasan that has been landscaped with walks. True to their translation, it was a beautiful place; from Samkumbori, we could see the many smaller hills and mountains on Jeju. Unfortunately, those pictures didn't turn out due to the cloudcast, however the 100+ other pictures (mostly people pictures) did! SanMi and JongIn love taking pictures and insisted on many: together, 'solo-portraits', walking, sitting, standing in the tall grass, etc. SanMi even asked for a picture with the European tourists we ran into.

닭샤브샤브=dak-shya-beu-shya-beu=chicken shya-bu shya-bu
After Sankumburi, we had a great 3-course meal called 닭샤부샤부 (see what I ate here! except the ramen). First was the Sha-bu Sha-bu, a hot pot dish, in which vegetables and thin slices of meat are cooked in boiling water then eaten with a dipping sauce. Second, we were serve an entire chicken, I believe also boiled. Finally, third, was a pea and rice porridge. This was my first meal dining out with the family. On the way back home, we stopped at a TV-set (opposed to movie set). A drama that had just finished airing, had shot mansion scenes on Jeju. The set was empty, now a curiousity open to the public. This lead to many more photo opportunities!

Saturday, Chuseok
새섬=Say-Sawm= Seh Island
After the Chuseok meals, the entire family and I went to Seh Island. The city has just finished building a beautriful pedestrian bridge (reminiscent of the Seogwipo World Cup Stadium) to the island which has a 1.3km walkway. Because of Chuseok, the bridge and island were teeming with people. I couldn't see much of the island at night, but I hope to go back during the day to get some pictures! The bridge, on the other hand, was the night-time attraction with all its rainbow lights.

Sunday, with Ah-ppa and SanMi
영실코스=yawng-shil kko-seu=Yeongsil Course
For the third time, I trekked up Hallasan, but this time up Yeongsil Course. This trail was much steeper and much more scenic than the Seongpanak Course. However, this trail didn't go to the top; instead, the trail flattens at the top with a nice view looking up at the crater. As is protocol, we had a warm cup of ramen at the trail end. Yeongsil course will be gorgeous when the leaves change color (soon!) and also when the Hallasan wildflowers come out in spring!

My bioengineering degree has prepared me for life on Jeju...
(the tender cactus chocolate is made with cactus powder through vacuum lyophilization)

Picture of the Day

Everyone knows what this means. This transcends all language barriers:

Swine Flu Update

Two Saturdays ago (the 19th) the swine flu, here called influenza, hit home. As I was coming back from a short morning expedition around Seogwipo, I hit the stream of students leaving from Saturday class. They told me, 2 students have swine flu.

More news on Tuesday. As I was going to lunch with the students for English lunch table, one girl told me to not breath, then grabbed my wrist to hurry me past classroom 1-4 like they had the plague. In a sense they do; I had class 1-4 (grade 1 class 4) in the afternoon. 8 students (out of 40) in that class had the flu. I used this to discuss, in English, ways to prevent the flu.

Talking to the school nurse on Wednesday. She tells me that yes, 8 students in 1-4 have the flu. Also, 1 more first grader and 3 third graders have the flu. Total 12 students.

This past week, bottles filled with disinfectant (I'm sure it's an ethanol mix), appeared in every classroom and in the teacher's office. The attendant at HomePlus (like a SuperTarget) is also spraying the shopper's hands. I haven't heard of any more students; I think the excitement is dying down...

To the top of Hallasan with 아빠

아빠 = ah-ppa = dad (my homestay father)

Hallasan's is the volcano that made Jeju Island and is also the highest point (1950m) in Korea--definitely a big tourist attraction. The trail we hiked was a gradual altitude climb, so much so that it took 4hrs up and 3hrs down. This post will be easier if I break this up into time slots....

Ahppa is a civil engineer with his own design or development company. When the family went to Pyosan for a family gathering, he showed me the stone walk along the beach, which is pretty nice. After we left, he then told me that he designed it. Out of all the family members, I see him the least. Like Ohmma, he also doesn't speak English, which limits our conversation abilities. But you don't need to know Korean to hike!

7:00am: Family breakfast. I've not yet gotten used to squid, especially for breakfast, so I don't eat much.

7:20am: I ask what I should take. Camera? Of course. Water? For sure. I think I'm set, but not so fast. 옴마 (ohm-ma) is asking about pants, gloves, a sports towel, and a jacket (I'm in shorts, tennis shoes, and a tshirt). I put all of the above in my backpack. Both she and 아빠 are in serious hiking wear: pants, long-sleeve shirt, hiking boots, hats, backpacks, and food.

7:30am: We drive to the trailhead.

8:00am: Arrive at the trailhead. My best guess is that we started the hike at 300-500m elevation. 아빠 (Ahppa)'s friend fro Jejusi is waiting for us. The two men start walking fast, leaving Ohmma behind. Not quite sure what's going on, so I keep up with them. It's foggy and damp, not too hot, but I start sweating. Remember, I'm in shorts and a shirt--they're in pants and long-sleeves. I think their clothing is more for protection from the sun the temperal comfort.

10:30am: We reach a resting point and stop for food. The food turns out to be a meal: cup o'ramen, fruit, soju, juice, crackers, and chocolate. 15min after we arrive Ohmma shows up. We all eat together and then split. Ahppa, Ahppa's friend, and I head for the top of Hallasan while Ohmma goes back down. It is prohibited to start hiking past the rest point after 12:3opm, so if you want to make it to the top, get an early start.

11:00am: A little bit later, while taking a short break, we talk to the other hikers resting. Turns out the other foreigner (the only one I've seen so far) is a Frenchwomen from Avignon. She's come to spend a month in Korea all by herself--pretty gutsy for not knowing Korean well. She's the first native French speaker that I've conversed with in months...and the first in Korea!

11:30am: We've reached the top (after 10km hiking)! The top of Hallasan is above the clouds. Unlike the forest at the beginning of the trail, we're now basking in the sunlight. I was actually hoping for no clouds and a clear view of the island, but no such luck. It's still pretty though; it's hard to see what's the ocean and what's the sky past the sea of clouds. And Ahppa has more food, kim bap, to eat. Way more food than I'm used to for a hike. We spend maybe 30min at the top, then it's time to head down...

12:20-2:50pm: All the way down Hallasan. For me, going down is always much harder than going up. At this point, I feel bad for wearing my running shoes; their cushions are getting ruined. The path is made of uneven rocks, so not only am I ruining my shoes, but I have to be careful of my footing or else I slip. We passed tons of people hiking up, almost a constant stream of people, who just made the 12:30pm cutoff time. On the whole way down I see maybe 10 causcasians, which is maybe 3% of all the hikers I saw that day (do the math....it was crowded!).

2:50pm: When we reach the bottom, Ohmma's there waiting for us. I'm surprised she waited and didn't take the bus back (less than $2). I more sleepy tired than sore. Once we get home I take a good nap....

Monday dinner: Ahppa tells me that next time we'll take a different course....next time.

Serious about Swine Flu

신종인플루엔자=shin-jong-in-peul-lu-en-cha= New Influenza=swine flu

For me this seems like the second wave of swine flu; the American scare had come and gone before I left the States. It seemed to be no big deal--contagious, yes, but no more deadly than the regular flu. Since I've arrived in Korea, swine flu has been a thing of the present, everyone's concerned. Don't joke about swine flu. Several indicators that Korea's serious....

July 5th (arrived in South Korea): Everyone's temperature was checked once we got off of the plane. At the time, I thought this was customary procedure. Looking back, it may have been swine flu (new foreigners!).

July 6th (2nd day in Korea): The night after arriving, one of the ETAs gets sick, enough to go to the hospital. Most likely from the stress of traveling for 24+ hours (dehydration) and eating foreign food. But the university doesn't see it that way--we're potential swine flu carriers, fresh from America. That being the case, we are isolated for 24 hours; we stay in the dorm all day and eat in a separate room in the cafeteria. We almost had to wear face masks. Everyone found this slightly amusing, but we understood the message: do NOT joke about swine flu. I feel like such a filthy disease carrying animal. While this is an experience, I'm careful about who I tell this to. Americans, yes. Koreans, no.

July 12th (at the taekwondo tournament): We see an informational sign about flu prevention. Cover your cough, wash your hands, etc. There's also a sign now in the dorm.

Later that week: I read on the Korean Times that an international choir competition (the World Choir Championships) is canceled because one volunteer and one international group possibly had influenza.

August 18th (arriving in Seogwipo): My homestay sister tells me that her parents had a huge trip to Europe planned, but they canceled it. Why? Swine flu. Don't worry new family--I've been in Korea for six weeks now....I shouldn't be a carrier.

August ~24th: Another ETA tells me that instead of starting school classes are canceled for a week. Why? Swine flu.

September 2nd (yesterday): The Korean Times reports the 4th death of a Korean from swine flu. Actually, the deaths have been associated with swine flu, actually causation is not confirmed. This last death was a middle-aged woman who already had several other ailments (diabetes, kidney failure, and hypertension).

September 3rd (today): I arrive at school to find a line of students and three teachers in face masks (one's the school nurse). They're taking body temperatures, looking for suspicious symptoms (body temp > 37.8 degrees C = fever, maybe swine flu). There was also a swine flu prevention staff meeting before school started. I got the gist of things, but I'll be checking in with the school nurse. Now we have something to talk about.

Future: I hope no one (teachers or students) get swine flu...

Picture of the Day

I haven't yet gotten into camera mode here in Seogwipo. Once I do, I promise, there'll be pictures a plenty, of my school, my homestay & family, Seogwipo, everything. But here's my first picture:

I was on the corner of Jung-ang Rotary in downtown Seoqwipo, waiting for the 5.16 bus (cuts across the island, Seogwipo to Jeju City). It was equally cute to see the little boy grab the handles and put on his game face. As cute as it is, I was also concerned. I don't think I'd buy a scooter or motorcycle here, as Korean drivers can be dangerous. It's supposedly better on Jeju than the mainland, but there's intersections here in Seogwipo without lights or anything else that would seem to govern traffic.

But whatever. This picture makes me smile!

Yonsei Day to 서귀포

서귀포= 'soggy-poe' = Seogwipo (where I now live)

The six weeks of Orientation ended with a bang on Yonsei Day. Yonsei, because we gather at Yonsei University at Seoul, + Day, because it's the big day when we meet our school officials (principal, vice-principal, and co-teachers).

Everything was very official, so much so that we had a debriefing the night before. Luggage downstairs by 7:40am, shuttles leave at 8:30am and 9am, quick meeting at 9:30am, then ceremony, then lunch, then leave...make sure you have nylons, girls wear make up, boys be clean-shaven, look your best, noserings out, etc. We had to make sure we had our game faces on--first impressions, especially in Korea, are very important.

The big ceremony with everyone, ETAs, school officials, Fulbright staff, started at 11am. We (ETAs) filed into the auditorium where all the school officials were seated. The school officials had been given our pictures, and we're eagerly looking around for their ETA. We however, had no idea who we belonged to. Our instructions were to, once our name was called, step out of line, bow (70-90), then wave to our school officials who would be standing. The Orientation coordinators had put a lot of stress on the ceremony, and I had imagined something quite different than what actually happened. I had expected for Yonsei Day to be very serious and straight-faced, whereas it was quite the opposite; it was fun, light-hearted, and most of all celebratory. Many of the school officials had brought flowers for their ETA, one group had made a sign, another ETA got flowers and a hug, and another a little "July 4th" popper. They were all very enthusiatic and happy to meet us. Only my co-teacher, Sue Yeon, had come to Seoul from Jeju

After the ceremony, we all ate lunch with our new co-workers and superiors. The meal was really good, and, likewise, probably very expensive. It was a long series of small dishes. What really stood-out was the bulgogi--delicious! I can't wait to eat more, probably when going out. There was also a weird Korean dessert, almost like a pastry....guess what it was....a rice cake with sugar. Rice is everywhere...

It was a sraight shot to my Seogwipo homestay after that. Bus to airport, Seoul to Jeju City, Jeju City to Seogwipo and my new home, complete with family. It's an interesting new life...